


The Bee Game

by mike_will_protect_you



Category: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fresme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28195671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mike_will_protect_you/pseuds/mike_will_protect_you
Summary: Esmeralda tricks Claude Frollo into letting his guard down
Relationships: Esméralda | Esmeralda/Claude Frollo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	The Bee Game

Esmeralda raised a brow and smirked, putting her hand on the back of the chair. She leaned forward, her eyes getting bright. She cocked her head as she asked, “Minister Frollo, are you saying you’ve never played the Bee Game?”

Claude smiled a bit, rubbing his chin. He noticed that Clopin and the others were smiling widely, some even laughing quietly, yet none of them were willing to make eye contact with him. He glanced at Quasimodo, still sitting on the stool. The boy shrugged at Frollo, looking just as clueless.

“Bee...game?” He swallowed. Judging by their reactions and Esmeralda’s mischievous little smirk, he knew he was going to regret knowing. Still, he was quite curious about how something so childish sounding could make her companions squirm like that. Was it a card game, or magic trick? From how everyone acted, you would think this game involved actual bees... She wasted no time. She took a step closer to him, movements were relaxed and her smile was nonchalant.

“Watch me…” The young lady slowly lifted up her pointer fingers in the air, level to her collarbone. Her smile was unwavering, even as the others started to hush. Clopin in particular leaned in, biting his fingernails in his smile. The young man’s eyes flashed at Esmeralda, then went right back to the Judge. Claude could see that his knees were even shaking just a bit...

Still, he laughed quietly, threading his hands together and nodded. “I’m watching.”

Quasimodo sat up a bit, one hand on his knee, the other hand stroking his chin, not unlike how Claude did it. He was observing the scene as though it could be some sort of ancient family ritual he would need to know if he were to be a tried and true member of the Roma.

Esmeralda still faced Claude Frollo with her pointer fingers towards the ceiling, but turned just a bit so that her rear would stick out. “First, you shake your bum.” She cooed, doing just that. The dangles on her skirt rustled as she quickly but gently shook her hips. She mimicked the sound of a bumblebee as it buzzed through the air. Claude had to chuckle a bit in confusion and curiosity as she did it. “Okay.”

With the first step out of the way, she turned to face him properly. Her band mates were giggling under their breath, and even Clopin seemed to be deeply entertained. It made the Judge quite nervous, but he had to admit, the anticipation and anxiety was a bit exciting.

“Then, you fly in the air.” She waved her fingers from side to side, copying the waltz-like flying pattern of bees. She hummed a little tune. After a few beats, her pointer fingers paused, ending her little song. He nodded again.“Alright…” 

She closed her eyes, lifting her fingers to about eye level. With a sing-song, she cooed, “And...then...you…”

The room grew dead quiet. Not even the floorboards creaked. Everyone in the room had stopped breathing, save for Esmeralda, who kept a calm smile on her face, and for Quasi, who was completely clueless as to what the third step might be. Claude had to clear his throat just a bit, his heart fluttering once he noticed that she was absolutely still. Her emerald eyes never broke contact with his own during this whole ordeal, so he knew she didn’t simply forget the game’s rules. He felt like a mouse meeting a playful kitten...

“Go on…” He swallowed with a smile. As a nervous tic, he moved to adjust his collar. This proved...to be a fatal error.

Once he moved his arm out of the way, Esmeralda’s fingertips started jabbing at Frollo’s ribs, side and belly in quick, rapid succession. She gleefully started to shout, _Sting! Sting! Sting! Sting!_ in conjunction with her movements.

The second he felt it, his heart leapt up past his shoulder blade. He yelped, and had to grit his teeth to prevent himself from laughing out loud. He quickly put his arms close to his middle and stepped back, desperately trying to escape her assault. Her touch was so gentle and soft that she wasn’t actually poking or hurting him, but her delicate, yet nimble movements only made the tickling even worse. Just to be extra cruel, she started curling her finger just a bit at what she suspected were especially vulnerable areas. Despite his very best efforts, she managed to get him to giggle, though he was so loud he almost sounded like he was shrieking in pain. To further his humiliation, everyone else in the group cried out in terrified amusement, which quickly turned into uproarious laughter. Even Quasimodo could be heard clapping.

When she thought he’d had enough, Esmeralda pulled her hands away, giving him time to breathe. He had to look at her through just a crack in his eye as he tried to catch his breath. He hadn’t moved from his protective stance, not trusting her one bit. She was grinning, and looked immensely proud of the fact that she made the notorious Judge Claude Frollo hunch over and scrunch up his limbs in fright. She put her hands on her hips and admired the scene in front of her, but with her feet pointed to the right, and away from the tables...

His face was red with embarrassment, his heart pounded in his ears, and his entire body was covered in goosebumps. He gave her, and the crowd, an exhausted little smile, shaking his head. “Childish...all of you are absolutely _childish_.”

“Your fault, really.” Esmeralda shrugged, her smile getting quite smug. “You really didn’t see that coming?”

“No!” Claude wailed. He put his face in his hands and groaned. “Nobody’s ever done... _that_...to me since I was a little boy!”

She just laughed, and she gave him a wink. “Well, you sure haven’t forgotten how it feels, haven’t you?”

Quasimodo had one hand around his own stomach, laughing so hard that his sides were getting terribly sore. He gently pointed to Frollo and cried joyously, “She g-got you good! She got you good!”

Clopin in particular was cackling so hard that he was clapping with joy and pride. Was he perhaps the one who taught her the trick? Must’ve been…

“Oh my God, it’s true!” Clopin was wiping away tears from his eyes. “French people _really do_ go ‘hon hon hon’ instead of ‘ha ha ha’! Oh my God, that’s made my whole night!”

Something told Claude that he should’ve been cross, but he had to admit, it _was_ a great prank...it made him feel like the Man of the Hour in the silliest way he could possibly think of, but everyone around him was clearly having the absolute time of their life, a rare sight for him to see. Giving Esmeralda a defeated smile, he threaded his hands together and slowly walked back towards the table.

“Alright, fine. You _did_ get me good.” He laughed wearily, nodding at her. “But, please...don’t do that again.”

She responded by simply giving him a goblet full of blood red wine, and gesturing towards the chairs. Her smile seemed a bit...kinder. Like she was greeting a friend. “Well, since you were such a good sport about it.” She gently elbowed his arm. “Of course...good luck trying to assert your authority from this point on, Minister Frollo.”

He sighed, taking a huge swig of the wine. Indeed, it was clear that not a single person in this room was going to let him live this down. She even managed to get his own son against him! He gave her a sideways glance and smiled, almost like he was trying to match her own. "That was your goal, wasn't it?"

With a smile and a coo, she dragged her finger underneath his chin, forcing him to smile one final time.

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to the Japanese movie Mirai for teaching me this game.
> 
> Anyway, this is part of a much larger story in which Claude Frollo is a nice man who befriends Esmeralda and eventually Clopin because he wants to learn about Quasimodo's heritage, as well as learning about his city's most downtrodden group. But I thought I would post this real quick because I think it's really cute. <3


End file.
